This invention relates to methods and compositions for accelerating the hardening of phenolic resole resin binder compositions which are hardened with magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide alone or together with an ester functional hardening agent. Such hardening can take place at about room temperature.
It is often desirable to accelerate or shorten the time it takes for phenolic resole resins to harden by the use of a lightburned magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide hardener, alone or together with an ester functional hardening agent, particularly if such acceleration does not significantly affect the eventual hardness, tensile strength, and other desirable properties of the hardened or cured resin. This is particularly the case in cooler climates and lower temperatures.
Magnesium oxide or hydroxide, with or without an ester functional hardening agent, are used as the hardening agents in this invention.
Applicant has found that the hardening of phenolic resole resin compositions admixed with hardening quantities of lightburned magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide, either alone or together with an ester functional hardening agent can be accelerated by use of certain amines or compounds which increase the solubility of magnesium from the hardener which is admixed with the resin. Illustrative of accelerators are compounds which provide anions of chloride, sulfate, nitrate, and sulfamate as well as various amino compounds such as 2,4,6-tris(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol.
Lightburned magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide are well known room temperature hardening agents for phenolic resole resins. Furthermore, magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide are used as the condensation catalysts for the manufacture of phenolformaldehyde resole resins from phenol and formaldehyde. Additionally, relatively inactive magnesia, e.g., periclase or refractory grade magnesia, is a conventional refractory which is often bound into various shapes with phenolic resole resins; however the periclase is relatively inactive and is not used as a hardener. Illustrative of references which disclose the use of magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide to harden phenolic resole resins in various types of compositions, there can be mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,869,194 of Jan. 20, 1959 to R. H. Cooper; 2,869,196 of Jan. 20, 1959 to R. H. Cooper; 2,913,787 of Nov. 24, 1959 to R. H. Cooper; 3,666,703 of May 30, 1972 to T. Murata et al; 2,712,533 of Jul. 5, 1955 to J. S. Mitchell; 2,424,787 of Jul. 29, 1947 to W. H. Adams, Jr.; and 4,794,051 of Dec. 27, 1988 to M. K. Gupta.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,051 Gupta patent also mentions the use of a class of ester functional hardening agents namely, lactones, which are used together with the magnesium hardeners, but preferably in admixture with calcium hardeners. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,194 Cooper patent also mentions that magnesium oxychloride and magnesium oxysulfate, which can be prepared by mixing magnesium oxide powder with an aqueous solution of magnesium chloride or its equivalent or magnesium sulfate or its equivalent, frequently provide shorter hardening times as compared to the magnesium oxide alone. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,787 Cooper patent also mentions the optional inclusion in his compositions of "novolak type" phenolics as well as optional inclusion of hexamethylene tetramine or equivalent curing agent or accelerator for phenolic resins, including ethylene diamine, diethylene triamine and the like relatively low molecular weight polyamines and paraformaldehyde.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 450,989 entitled "Phenolic Resin Compositions" filed Dec. 15, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,454 with P. H. R. B. Lemon, J. King, H. Leoni, G. Murray, and A. H. Gerber as inventors, which is based on GB 8829984.7 filed Dec. 22, 1988, discloses the preparation of phenolic resole resins with alkali or alkaline earth metal compounds as the basic catalyst and the subsequent room temperature hardening of such resins with an esterified phenolic as the ester functional hardening agent together with various bases, including oxides and hydroxides of magnesium and calcium.
European Patent Application Publication Number 0094165, which was published on Nov. 16, 1983 with P. H. R. B. Lemon et al as inventors, has broad recitations which mention the use of various alkaline materials including magnesium oxide (magnesia) for condensing phenol and formaldehyde to form phenol-formaldehyde resins and for further increasing the alkalinity of such resins which use ester functional agents for hardening the phenolic resin. European Patent Application Publication No. 0243,172, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,067 of May 16, 1989, which was published on Oct. 28, 1987 and lists P. H. R. B. Lemon et al as inventors, has recitations similar to those of the above-mentioned 0094165 publication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,188, which issued on Jul. 3, 1990 with A. H. Gerber as inventor, discloses the use of lithium ion generating alkalizing agents in resole resin binder compositions which, when hardened by an ester functional curing agent, exhibit tensile and compressive strengths superior to that obtained from compositions using sodium or potassium ion generating alkalizing agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,186 of Mar. 8, 1977 to Higgenbottom as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,295 of Aug. 5, 1980 to Dahms relate to phenolic resoles catalyzed with alkaline earth metal hydroxides and neutralized with oxalic acid or its acid salts which provide stable, inert, insoluble oxalate salts dispersed in said resole and, additionally increases the viscosity of the resole resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,247 of Nov. 30, 1971 to Gladney et al relates to the removal of residual calcium catalyst used in the production of phenolic resins. The residual calcium catalyst is removed by treatment with an alkaline solution of an ammonium salt which forms an insoluble salt with calcium upon pH adjustment. Soluble ammonium compounds used in the process of the 247 patent are listed as sulfate, phosphate, and carbonate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. Re 32,720 of Jul. 26, 1988 and Re 32,812 of Dec. 27, 1988 to P. H. R. B. Lemon et al are further illustrative of the literature which discloses room temperature hardening of highly alkaline phenol-formaldehyde resole resins with an ester hardening (curing) agent.
Japanese Kokoi Tokkyo Koho JP 60/90251 of May 21, 1985 to Kyushu Refractories Co., Ltd., which discloses the cold-hardening of a thermosetting resole resin by the use of ethylene carbonate and magnesium oxide.
My initially mentioned parent patent application Ser. No. 07/562206 discloses materials such as various anions for retarding the hardening of phenolic resole resins with magnesium hardening agents.